Wildlife Habitat Garden

Arlington
Reservoir Wildlife Habitat Garden History and Overview

The Wildlife Habitat Garden is the latest change at the
Res, but its history goes back at least ten years. In 1999 the State of
Massachusetts identified the existing earthen berm enclosing the Reservoir as a
potentially high-hazard structure. The standard engineering solution at that
time would be to remove all the trees along the berm and armor the bank with
stone rip-rap which would totally change the nature of the area.

At that time a number of people under the auspices of
Arlington Vision 2020 formed a committee to pursue alternatives. That was a
long process but eventually we found an engineer with a plan that would save
most of the trees. But a new emergency spillway was still required. That award
winning rehabilitation project was started in 2005 and completed in 2006.

Wildlife Habitat Garden at the
Arlington Reservoir

What is a wildlife
habitat garden?

It is a garden planted with native shrubs, trees, and
perennials that attract local wildlife. Native plants provide the foliage,
pollen, nectar, and seeds that many species need to survive and thrive. The
garden attracts birds, small animals, like rabbits and chipmunks, and insects,
such as bees, butterflies, and wasps. A successful wildlife habitat garden must
provide food, water, cover, and places to raise
young.

Inspired by an anonymous donation from an Arlington Land
Trust member and subsequent contributions from many other ALT members and local
residents along with support from the Conservation Commission, the Wildlife
Habitat Garden came to life this spring and summer after several years of
planning and design work.

A dedicated garden team coordinated through the Vision
2020 Reservoir Committee has worked on planning and planting the garden. The
overall design and selection of native shrubs and wildflowers were coordinated
by landscape designer Martine Gougault. Among the regular volunteers who shared
their garden knowledge and helped plant, weed, and water the garden are Lisa
Fredman, Cathy Garnett, Jane Howard, Rachel James, Ann LeRoyer, Jim Marzilli,
Stephan Miller, Elizabeth Karpati, and David White, chair of the Reservoir
Committee.

A special debt of gratitude is due to the Arlington
Department of Public Works, whose staff provided critical assistance and support
in many ways, initially preparing the site and especially by installing the
water pipes and spigots that helped sustain the garden through the dry spells.

Reservoir Wildlife Habitat
Garden - Planting Day Saturday April 30

Saturday was a great day for planting the Reservoir Wildlife
Habitat Garden. Many thanks to all the volunteers who showed up to make it a
success. Both sides next to the spillway have new topsoil and new plants.

However we need to make sure the plants get adequate water
both to get them started properly and to survive the summer. We will be
organizing efforts to make sure this happens.

Reservoir Wildlife Habitat
Garden - Mulching and Planting Day Saturday May 28 Thanks to everyone who came out on May 28 to mulch the garden
and to put in some new donated plants. This will help keep our plants
healthy and relatively weed-free. Our activities over the summer will
focus on keeping the garden in good health with an emphasis on watering.
Hopefully we will have a water line installed before the end of June which will
make that much easier.

We also plan to put in some more plants (probably in the Fall) and would like to
encourage donations of appropriate native plants. See the recommended list
below.

The Vision 2020 Reservoir Committee has already spent a lot of
money on soil, plants and erosion controls. We also need to raise about
$1100 for materials for the water line. So we welcome financial contributions (which are tax
deductable) to keep us going. Send them to the Arlington Land Trust, P.O. Box
492, Arlington, Massachusetts, 02476 and mark them for the Reservoir Garden.
Website: http://www.arlingtonlandtrust.org/

Reservoir Fall Planting - Saturday
September 10
We planted a bunch of new plants from the New England
Wildflower Society and also welcome donations as indicated below: Columbine
(aquilegia canadensis), the native red and yellow only Purple coneflower
(Echinacea purpurea) both the purple and white varieties but not cultivars like
"Little Kim" Black cohosh (cimicifuga racemosa) Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium
fistulosum) Boneset (eupatorium perfoliatum) Culver's root (veronicastrum) Marsh
marigold (Clethra palustris) NY Ironweed (vernonia noveboracensis) Obedient
plant (physostegia) Solomon's seal (polygonatum) Rudbeckia hirta, triloba and
lacinata. We are interested in other plants, so please call Jim Marzilli
at 781-641-2334 if you have others that you think might be of interest. See the recommended
donated plant list below.

Recommended List for Donated
Plants
We are interested in receiving donations of plant
materials. We are trying to use material that is native to the state and the New
England area. In particular, we are seeking a range of plants but especially:

Columbine (aquilegia canadensis), the native red and yellow only

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) both the purple and white
varieties but not cultivars like "Little Kim"

Black cohosh (cimicifuga racemosa)

Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium fistulosum)

Boneset (eupatorium perfoliatum)

Culver's root (veronicastrum)

Marsh marigold (Clethra palustris)

NY Ironweed (vernonia noveboracensis)

Obedient plant (physostegia)

Solomon's seal (polygonatum)

Rudbeckia hirta, triloba and lacinata

We are interested in other plants, so please call me (Jim
Marzilli) at 781-641-2334 if you have others that you think might be of
interest. At the end of this paragraph is a nice little web site for other
plants that may be of use but some listed plants have cultivation requirements
that our site cannot meet. The list also has flaws in scientific nomenclature on
what they call "purple butterfly weed" and "purple Joe-Pye weed" so tread
carefully if you work from this list. Some shrubs would also be of high interest
but please call me before bringing them.
http://www.projectnative.org/HerbaceousPerrennials.php